106 Perchance to Dream
The background is white. ; Panel 1 A man who is presumably Chief Belknap is talking to Zane in the Harker mansion basement. He wears a police uniform and a hat and is carrying a small notebook. He's white, his hair is short and white or light blond, his eyes seem permanently closed and he has a small, thin black mustache. He says "Let me get this straight. You and your lady friend were trespassing, looking for *some privacy* --" Zane interrupts him, gesturing with one hand and saying angrily "*No!* That's not it!" Mercy is clinging to his shoulder. Chief Belknap continues, "Or perhaps your odd little *pet* there flew astray, down through those cellar doors, and you scrambled after it --" Behind them, two police officers are inspecting the skeleton's bones. One of them is squatting next to them, taking a picture, and the other is staring down at them with a befuddled expression. There is a small yellow card in front of the skull with the number "2" on it. The general coloring is back to normal, and the background is grey and abstract. ; Panel 2. Zane turns away, gesturing and looking frustrated, and says "*What's the point?!* I can tell you the real reason but no one will believe me!" Chief Belknap, writing something on his notebook, replies "Try me, son." ; Panel 3. Zane looks nervous, gritting his teeth and looking to the side, and says in small type "... That, um, skeleton there *attacked* --" Without changing his expression at all, Chief Belknap replies "I don't believe you." ; Panel 4. With a supercilious look on his face, Belknap continues "I'm sure stumbling on these old remains gave you and the girl a *real shock*. Iris, standing behind him, puts her hands on her hips and looks angry as she says "We're *not* suffering from shock! And how did the Bottlefly Boys find us?" ; Panel 5. Maurice chimes in, saying "We were on a little walkabout. Heard a ruckus and followed those old steps to the sound." Zane, squeezing his eyes shut, says in frustration, "*Augh!* This is *useless!*" ; Panel 6. Zane, Belknap and Mercy are shown in profile, looking at each other, in partial silhouette. Belknap is in blue, with only his closed eye and his mustache visible, while Zane's eye and eyebrow are visible. Belknap says "You're exhausted, Mr. Zane. We'll get a proper statement after you've gotten some sleep." Zane replies "After tonight I don't know if I'll ever sleep again." ; Panel 7. Zane and Iris are apparently in Angstrom's study, sleeping soundly. Zane is lying on a carpet, while Iris is lying next to him on the long couch that Zane was sitting on at the beginning of the story, partially covered by a blanket. Mercy is lying on top of Zane, her wing outstretched over his chest. Zane and Iris both have their mouths open, and there are large Zzzs extending from the left of the panel to the right.